April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman collaborate on Salvation Taco at Pod 39 Hotel

By JOANNA FANTOZZI

|NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|

Feb 24, 2013 | 6:00 AM

Crispy cauliflower taco with curried crema at Salvation Taco (Mariela Lombard for New York Daily News)

If you've ever wanted to munch on gourmet mini tacos while playing a game of ping-pong, Salvation Taco — April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman's latest collaboration — is the place to go.

This taqueria, which opened in December inside midtown's Pod 39 Hotel, features a menu of assorted tacos as well as unusual snacks like crispy pig ears and spicy beer nuts.

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Salvation Taco gives off an atmosphere of celebration. Customers regularly play rounds of table tennis at the table in the corner. The walls and draperies are splattered with color and certain specialty drinks are served in parrot-head glasses.

"I don't like quiet restaurants with no music or tables far away from each other. I'm bored with white walls," say Friedman. "For people with short attention spans like me, there's always something to look at."

He's not kidding. Customers enter a bar area filled with tiny animal figurines and Elvis angel statuettes. There's a wall of plastic fruit and the seating area is informal with a few tables near the bar, and couches and benches in the back near the lobby.

"We wanted it to be just a fun place for friends to gather. It's a meeting area," says Bloomfield.

The duo — they've been working together since opening the Spotted Pig in 2004 — both like casual atmospheres, but since neither of them had a background in Mexican food, they enlisted the help of chef Roberto Santibañez to put the menu together.

Santibañez, who hails from Mexico City, brought plenty of expertise and advice, including the importance of making the tortillas fresh daily.

Despite the guacamole and ceviche verde on the menu, Santibañez doesn't consider his menu to be overly traditional.

"Most of the flavors are not Mexican, which opens up a big window of possibilities," he says. "It's the whole concept of a New York setting and urban Mexican cooking."

The ingredients in the tacos are inspired by cuisines from all over the world. The roasted cauliflower taco, for instance, is served with curried crema, adding Indian flavors to the vegetarian dish. Other international nods include the Moroccan lamb on naan and the Korean kimchi pozole.

Colorful lounge area at Salvation Taco (Mariela Lombard for New York Daily News)

Besides the food, Friedman says he and Bloomfield are particularly proud of the drinks created by mixologist Sam Anderson. As the weather warms up, hotel and restaurant guests can head up to the roof where they can sip on drinks and take in views of the city.

When not running around and tending to their taqueria, Bloomfield and Friedman like to compete in fierce games of ping-pong.

"I really want to start a league, and get other restaurants and food bloggers in on it," says Bloomfield as she smashes one over the net.